Overturned tanker causes hazmat cleanup near I-5

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- An overturned tanker truck shut down Manning Avenue, near Interstate 5 and created a hazmat situation. It happened early Friday morning and the clean-up took all day.

Firefighters used twitter to give us a closer view of the clean-up and the truck resting on its side with 8,000 gallons of fuel in the tank.

Zeke Rodriguez with the California Highway Patrol said, "the fuel has to be extricated from the tanker that's been overturned and off loaded to an awaiting tanker so that process is very dangerous."

It was a slow process too and it kept the road closed in both directions. The truck tipped over around one in the morning and the driver was sent to the hospital. Hours later, the fuel started leaking so crews had to be careful.

"Watching out for the safety of everyone around us," said Josh Campbell who is a Battalion Chief with Cal Fire, "this job is pretty critical but at the same time, we wanna make sure everyone is safe."

Firefighters were on stand-by with hoses, a water tender and a fire engine.

Campbell said, "we have the hoses stretched out on the ground while they're doing the tapping operation in order to mitigate any sparks or any hazards."

The cold air also helped and only ten gallons of fuel spilled to the ground - which makes Vincent Mendes' job a little easier. He's an environmentalist with the Fresno County Department of Public Health and he'll give the final call when the job is done and the road is ready to re-open.

"We wanna make sure it's done properly and safely and after, we can assess the area and see if there needs to be any further action," Mendes said.

The crash is under investigation. Meanwhile, the truck driver is recovering from minor injuries and is expected to be OK.